theALPINAregister.com

[Broch]

Wife is telling me, that this morning doing the school run, a red steering wheel with a padlock at the top left hand corner of it came on.
She then stopped the engine thinking that it would go out (???!!!). She drove straight home and parked up in the garage.
The manual shows the warning light on page 145 and says that it is a problem with the steering lock, not to drive the car and to contact BMW servicing.
I'm in Malta at the moment so can't do too much at this end, but wondered if anyone knew what the problem would be and the solution.

Thanks in advance


Onzie

[Broch]

Oh, forgot to say that she is a D3

[Charles]

Not one I've ever come across but the manual appears to be clear about the course of action.

Anything to do with steering or brakes is mission critical in my book - it's good to be able to stop and/or head the way you want to go - so I would strongly recommend that you/she speaks to a dealer soonest.

HTH
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Charles
Petrolheads of the world unite - Alpina are on our side
B3S Touring (49/116)
Renault Grand Espace 3.0 V6 Diesel - yes!

[Bruce M]

a quick google got a few hits on a e90 forum.

A number of possible outcomes.

-software update.
-new battery in key (certain 'keyless' option only, i think).
-new steering column.

The last one appeared the most common from my quick scan and in some cases there was an audible clicking noise from the steering.

Seems there is a "SA" notice that covers it.

Good luck!
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52/03 Mini Cooper S (gone) electric blue/black roof
04/04 BMW 325 ti SE (gone) mystic blue

04/04 B3S touring (no. 104) Alpina Blue

[PATAKET]

Onzie

I had a warning come up once (in the D3), it may have been this one (can't remember exactly what symbol it was now). Turned out one of the two keys must have hardly ever been used; battery in key was discharged. Solution : drive for several hours with discharged key in dash slot. [AFAICR, the batteries are non-replaceable]. May be worth your Mrs simply using the other key to see if that gets rid the warning.

På Taket
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"Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse; playing cricket is not". Keith "Nugget" Miller MBE, Australian Test cricketer and Mosquito bomber pilot, 169 Sqn., RAF.

[Broch]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Well, the wife called JC Tayside who says that although the car is out of warranty, we still have a 3 year breakdown cover. She was given a number to call as it's another company who deals with this. She thought the name of the company was Mondel??
They say that that it's only a 'warning' light and that the car would be safe enough to drive.
She called back Tayside who now say that "if BMW UK advice says that it's ok to drive then thaey would be happy to go along with that"
The wife is now confused and is leaving it for me to sort out when i get home the end of next week, which i don't blame her.

When i'm home it's always me that drives, and when i'm away she uses the daughter's car. So possible battery problem as mentioned above. Although she still gets the same warning light with my keys



Onzie

[MarkWG]

[Broch]

Spoke to BMW Emergancy Services in Croydon this afternoon, and a senior co-ordinator advises that it is probably a software update is all that is needed.
I did ask if i could get this in an email due to the manual saying not to drive the car, and the garage initially saying the same. I just wonder how my insurance company would view the situation should anything happen on the way to the garage. Seemingly BMW ES don't have access to email, but as the call was being recorded then this should be enough

So i called JC of Aberdeen and booked in for this Thursday...............


Onzie

[Bruce M]

If it does turn out to be a faulty BMW part I would push for it to be covered by BMW regardless of the alpina waranty being expired.

Certainly if it turns out to be a known problem.
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52/03 Mini Cooper S (gone) electric blue/black roof
04/04 BMW 325 ti SE (gone) mystic blue

04/04 B3S touring (no. 104) Alpina Blue

[Broch]

Well, took the car into JC Aberdeen yesterday morning and it turns out reprogramming was required.
The job itself took around one and a half hours and cost me £260.82

The cost and the job itself doesn't bother me, but what does is the fact that the breakdown company got out of their side of things.
Service guy in Aberdeen said that i shouldn't have drove the car in

Must admit that the service at Aberdeen was 1st class too.


Onzie

[Bruce M]

Hmmm, another example why many people are dissatified with dealer customer service in general.

1.5hr to reprogramme an ecu.....

How much of that time was the service tech actually doing anything?

I doubt if it was more than ten minutes to connect up the car to the computer, run a diagnosic and start the re-fresh process. Afterwards maybe a 10 min test drive to confirm the problem is fixed.

So what exactly are they charging for? electricity? rent of the workshop space? itellectual property?

Lack of competition is a big problem with UK dealers in my humble opinion.
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52/03 Mini Cooper S (gone) electric blue/black roof
04/04 BMW 325 ti SE (gone) mystic blue

04/04 B3S touring (no. 104) Alpina Blue

[ajsmith]

£260 seems steep for a software refresh - plug in, set off, have a cuppa, think of a number then bill the customer Highway robbery, at least Dick Turpin wore a mask.

[alpina46]

Well i just paid £240 for a faulty relay on the D3 16500 miles & a month out of warranty had to have the car recovered to Sytners as it would not start
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B10 V8 #240
John Cooper Works
D3 Touring #183(sold)